Life of a Kludge Vol 1
by Luna Sealeaf
Summary: An attempted look at Seamus Zelazny Harper's life--starting at the beginning.
1. Barely But a Man

Author's Note: For a long time I've contemplated doing a 'biography' on Seamus Harper, my favorite Andromeda character, although I love all of them. Well, now it has come. I've done my best to stay true to all the facts I do know about him. I haven't seen any of the first two seasons however, except for the first four. Therefore if some fact was mentioned that I don't include, please forgive me. I've also tried to make this one different from all the other Harper life stories out there. Many were good, I just wanted to try my own take. So here goes; please enjoy. Upon learning that Seamus is 'Earth-Irish' I decided to make much of his family Irish, hence the names, which are authentic, according to the name website I got them off of. The meanings are also, as far as I know, correct, as are the spellings and pronunciations.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, at least not Harper or his cousins. I have made up most of his family members from my imagination and if they bare any resemblance to other fanfiction characters, it is entirely chance. I am not making any profit off of this.  
The song, "Annachie Gordon" was based on a poem and put to music by Loreena McKennit, who is one of my favorite artists. I'm pretty sure it's Irish, but even if it's not, I like and I want to put it in here. :P Pronunciation of names: Bronagh (Bro-na)  
Eoin (Owe-in)  
Kaleigh (Kaye-lee)  
Siobhan (Shi-van)  
Declan (Deck-lawn)  
  
Life of a Kludge: Volume 1: Barely But A Man  
  
Chapter 1: Before Birth-10 years old  
  
Prologue  
  
The sky is turning a lovely dark blue as the sun sets. I'm rocking on the old wooden chair outside our small cottage that Zelazny made for me six years ago, when I was pregnant with our first child. Our lovely little Briana! She was gorgeous, with curly blonde hair and eyes so blue they put the sky to shame. As I have red hair, as does my sister Kaleigh, and green eyes, she took after her father, who has the same look. She only lived for four years though. Caught the swamp fever, as they call it. Used to be known as the 'flu', but few people remember that.  
  
Our second child, Conor, died after only a few months. He was sickly from birth, and could not survive the harsh winter months. This child shall be our third. My only wish is that he will live, and I know it is a he, how; I'm not sure, but I know. Zelazny doesn't believe me. I think he would like another daughter, one like Briana. Still, even if it kills me, I want a child.  
  
The third child of a third child, surely that must mean something. I believe very much in fate and the powers of this earth, weakened though it now is. My elder sister, Kaleigh, scoffs at me when I talk like that. She thinks I'm weak and foolish, but then Kaleigh has had a harder time of it. Her husband, Brian, died a few months ago and she is left to raise their three year old son, Brendan, alone. Our eldest brother, Eoin, doesn't think I'm crazy. He just smiles softly and calls me sanguine. And I am. He and his wife Cassie, already have a child as well. A two year old girl named Siobhan, who looks just like her father. I am the only one of us who has yet to have a living child.  
  
Zelazny calls to me from the fields and I wave. He is trying to farm the land near our house. Nothing has grown here for many years but a few small trees. Still, he and Eoin are doing their best. Kaleigh says I am too thin for a woman with child; she says if I don't eat more the child will surely die, like Conor. I can only laugh at her and say "What should I eat?" for this land is not the lush green land our grandparents spoke of when they told us about Ireland, where our family comes from. My brother, sister, and I were all born there, but my parents moved here just after I was born, and none of us remember it well. In any case, there is little food to eat. The food we do scrape together we distribute to the children first, for they are all much too thin. Little Siobhan's eyes look too big for her face, and Brendan, although tall for his age, looks like he couldn't stand against a strong wind.  
  
Still, barren though this land may be, it is far better than living under the rule of the Nietzscheans. They hate us 'kludges', despite the fact that they were created by a kludge from Earth. Now, although we live in Dunwich, Massachusetts, there is little distinction between land. All human government has long since been overrun and we live at the mercy of the Nietzscheans. A few others live in this little village, but we tend to stick together as a family, Zelazny has no living blood relatives, and I only have my brother, sister-in-law, niece, sister, and nephew.  
And soon, I shall have a son.  
  
End of Prologue.  
  
The little boy ran through the fields of dead plants, laughing as he ran away from a girl who chased him. His blonde hair caught the sun, and his baby blue eyes matched the girl's who ran after him.  
  
"I'm gonna get you Seamus!" The brown haired girl, thin as a stick, called out gaily. The little boy only laughed and kept running.  
  
"Seamus, Siobhan, come eat before the food gets cold." A red haired woman called out. She stood outside a small wooden hut, and on the ground several lumps of black bread, a pitcher of water, and a pot of stew lay on the ground. Several other people sat around it and appeared to be waiting for the two children. A small boy with dirty blonde hair reached towards a loaf of bread, and laughed when his hand was swatted playfully away.  
  
"Coming Aunt Bronagh!" The young girl called out. She started to run towards them, then turned and smiled at Seamus. She walked back and picked up the four year old, then carried him back to the others.  
  
"You shouldn't run around so much honey, it'll make you sick," A woman with black hair and dark features said as she hugged Siobhan to her, another little boy already on her lap.  
  
"Don't be silly Cassie, exercise is good for them!" A blonde haired man said as he picked Seamus up and onto one shoulder.  
  
"Careful Zel!" Bronagh called, the red haired, green eyed, woman who had called the children to dinner. Zelazny only smiled and sat down as they all began passing the food around. The children laughed and teased each other, until they were told to go finish their food before they played. They did, and then ran off chasing each other, the little toddler, Declan, just running and not understanding the game.  
  
The adults continued to eat in silence for a few moments. There were two men and three women; they sat in a tight circle and watched the children or the ground while they ate.  
  
"There have been more reports of alien attacks," A blonde haired woman said, her blue eyes matching Brendan's and Seamus'. Zelazny snorted at her words, biting off a piece of the hard bread.  
  
"Like as not they're just lies made up by the Nietzscheans to convince more people to live under their 'protection'." Both he and Eoin spit at the end of his sentence, causing them all to laugh.  
  
"Just the same, I've been thinking more about moving to the camp, just in case," The same woman said.  
  
"Kaleigh don't be ridiculous! Once you go, they won't let you leave." Bronagh said, frowning slightly.  
  
"Mommy! Mommy! Come quick! Declan fell in the pond!" Cassie grew pale and jumped to her feet, as did the other adults, and they ran after them. The one thing that kept them all together was their children; without them, they were all as hopeless as the world around them.  
  
Two years later  
  
"I'm not drinking it, you drink it!" Little Declan said with a look of disgust. The four cousins had been exploring the dead forest a few miles from their homes. They had discovered a small pond, almost a lake, and were observing their find.  
  
"Come on, I dare you! You can have my dinner tonight!" Brendan cajoled, running a branch through the murky water.  
  
"Don't be stupid Bren, who knows what chemicals and stuff's in it!" Siobhan scolded, pulling her little brother away from the edge. All the children were barefoot, and all wore tunics and pants put together by the hard work of their mothers. From woven grass, to homemade paper, to clay for paste, and hair for thread, all three parents had found ways to make their children semi warm clothing, and they were all constantly told to keep their clothes from getting mussed. Thus Siobhan's nervous glance at the mud and brown water.  
  
"I'll drink it!" Seamus' bright voice offered. Brendan had started to look angry at Declan's refusal, and Seamus was always trying to get Brendan to like him. Brendan usually called him a baby and refused to play with him, and Seamus was almost desperate for his approval.  
  
"All right!" Brendan said with a smile. Siobhan rolled her eyes, brushing her knotted brown hair out of her face.  
  
"Don't do it Seamus! You'll get sick and then we'll all get in trouble," She planted one hand on her hip, the other clutched her brother's arm fiercely. Seamus wanted a brother, he'd always wanted a brother, but he didn't tell his Mom that, or his Dad. His Mom would get sad and his Dad would get angry, so he tried to pretend that Brendan was his brother.  
  
Seamus knelt in the mud, careful not to put too much weight on his knees and get his pants stained, which was difficult. He leaned forward.and lost his balance, throwing himself into the water.  
  
He heard laughter, and then Siobhan was pulling him out, yelling at Brendan and telling Declan to shut up.  
  
"Are you all right?" Siobhan asked, eyeing his drenched self. Seamus nodded, too embarrassed to say anything.  
  
They continued to play, although Seamus didn't feel like it too much. Declan and him played tag, and Brendan, apparently feeling sorry for him falling, did his best to be nice and cheer him up. Still, when two days later Seamus felt a sharp pain in his ear, only a sense of dread filled him. The others had given him extra food to keep him from telling their parents what had happened, and he'd been enjoying the extra attention, especially from Siobhan and Brendan.  
  
"Come on boy, time to get up," His father shook him roughly, and Seamus opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly, only to lay back down again when the pain moved from his ear to his head. "Come on, or you're not going to eat," Dad said, pulling on a shirt, and then pulling the tattered blanket off of Seamus. With a frightened look, Seamus turned over on his side, but he couldn't stop shaking. His dad looked back over at him, and felt his forehead.  
  
"Damnit boy, can't you stay well for a week?" Cursing, Zelazny stood up and called to Bronagh. She came in, opening the flap of cloth at the doorway with a look of concern on her face. Zelazny walked out passed her and she ignored him, running over to her boy's side and kneeling on the floor, feeling his forehead herself.  
  
"Don't worry honey, you're gonna be fine love," She kept murmuring soft words to him, calling out to Siobhan to go get her mother. For the next week Seamus was kept in bed with some sort of ear infection. When Siobhan broke down and told how he must have gotten it, by falling into the lake, all three children were punished for being so reckless.  
  
At night, when Seamus' fever got so that he couldn't sleep, his mother would cradle him and sing to him softly.  
  
"Harking is bonny, and there lives my love.my love lies on him and cannot removed. It cannot removed for all that I have done, and I never will forget my love, Annachie.." Seamus felt his eyelids droop, his mother always sang this to him when he couldn't sleep, and he knew the words by heart.  
"You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie.for Annachie Gordon is barely but a man, although he may be pretty, but where are his lands? For the Sultan's lands are broad, and his towers, they run high, you must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie."  
  
In his mind Seamus always pictured the Sultan as a big evil Nietzschean, although he hadn't ever seen one, and Annachie was him, or sometimes his father, while Jeannie, the girl, was his mother. It was an old song, Bronagh told him once, one that her grandmother had taught her.  
  
"Why do we have to learn to read?" A few months later, all four children sat in the square of the village with a few others. Declan was pouting because he couldn't understand the strange symbols that their teacher had written in the dirt.  
  
"There is much you can learn from books," The man began patiently. All the children were bored with the lessons, except for Seamus. It was his first day, he'd missed the other few lessons because his mother had fallen ill and his father had needed his help at home. Brendan and Siobhan had promised to help him catch up.  
  
"'Sides Declan, it's easy! If Nietzscheans can do it, anyone can!" Seamus said laughing. His laugh was infectious and the others laughed or giggled as well, more at his enthusiasm than at his words. Declan smiled at Seamus, he had become the brother he'd always wanted, as he'd grown older. He and Brendan were closer, but Brendan was still patronizing sometimes. His mother told him it was because Brendan had to take care of his mother and himself, so he had to grow up faster than Seamus.  
  
They were just learning the vowels when a shrill scream made them all turn. People were running through the village in horror.  
  
"What's happening?" The teacher grabbed a woman by the arm and asked frantically.  
  
"Monsters! They're attacking!" The woman pulled her arm away and continued to run. Some of the children started crying, Brendan took Seamus' hand and started running, calling back to Siobhan and Declan to follow. They didn't. Turning, they saw Siobhan push Declan towards Brendan and Seamus, and then turn to run towards their houses. Declan, crying, ran after her.  
  
"Siobhan! Declan! Come on Brendan, we gotta go after them!" Seamus cried out, but Brendan watched them go before tightening his grip on Seamus' hand and running with the others. They didn't go far. Before long, animals that were indeed monsters to their eyes began running through the village. Brendan pulled Seamus into a ditch outside the town. No one else had run that way, and none of the monsters seemed to be going in that direction. With frightened, wide eyes they peered over the edge of the grass and rocks to watch as their neighbors were torn open and their homes destroyed.  
  
A body was thrown towards them, and Seamus was covered in the blood of it before Brendan could pull him away. They stayed there for many nights, until things seemed to quiet down and voices were heard calling names instead of screaming. Cautiously Brendan and Seamus got out of the ditch and walked back towards the village. Flies buzzed everywhere, and the smell of fire and blood filled their nostrils. No one stopped to talk to them or ask if they were ok, so they continued until they reached their home.  
  
"Oh thank god boys!" Their uncle Eoin ran out towards them and hugged them tightly before looking at the closely. "Are you two all right?" he asked, and the boys nodded. Their mothers ran out and soon Seamus was being held tightly in his mother's arms, his father stroking his head. Aunt Kaleigh also hugged Brendan tightly, but Seamus saw neither Siobhan nor Declan, only Uncle Eoin and Aunt Cassie holding each other; Aunt Cassie sobbing into Eoin's shoulder.  
  
"Oh Seamus! We were so afraid you were gone!" His mother whispered to him, Seamus only hugged her tighter. "Where's Siobhan and Declan?" He asked after a few moments. Brendan looked at his mother questioningly, but she only shook her head and hugged him again.  
  
"Come inside honey, they're inside," Was all his mother could get out. She handed him to Zelazny, who carried him into the house. On piles of blankets, Siobhan and Declan lay side by side, asleep.  
  
"Are they ok?" Seamus asked, not understanding why his aunt and uncle were so upset when everyone seemed to be fine.  
  
"We don't know what's wrong with them," His father answered him softly. "We think the aliens did something to them. It's happened to some other people; the monsters laid their eggs inside them, and when they hatched, they died." Normally his mother would have objected to telling it so bluntly to him, but his time she only held him closer to her.  
  
They tried everything they could for Siobhan and Declan. Seamus gave them his water and tried to entice them to play. They would only shake their heads and say they didn't feel well enough. Aunt Cassie spent every waking moment with them, crying all the time. Uncle Eoin explained to Seamus how they had returned to try and look for their parents when they'd been caught by the monsters, Magog, they learned from neighbors. The monsters had been attacking various towns for years, but this was the first time they'd attacked anywhere near Dunwich. Many people were moving; most were going to try the refugee camp. Life under Nietzschean rule seemed a fair exchange for their protection from such monsters.  
  
Aunt Kaleigh thought it was a good idea to go as well. Zelazny and Bronagh argued with her, Eoin and Cassie were too concerned about their children to care. They stayed up late, trying not to yell since everyone now slept in the Harpers' hut, the other being destroyed beyond repair.  
  
Then one morning Kaleigh hugged Seamus, told Brendan to say goodbye, and left. Bronagh cried silently, Zelazny trying to comfort her.  
  
"I'm never going to see her, my sister, again Zel!" she cried, trying to muffle the sound against his shoulder.  
  
"Yes you will! Bronagh, we're family, we'll make it through this," He shushed her and held her until she slept. Seamus didn't like to watch his mother cry, so he lay between his cousins and held their hands to fall asleep, singing his mother's lullaby in his head.  
  
As they worsened, Eoin suggested bitterly that maybe they should ease their suffering. Cassie went into a rage, telling him she would die before she killed her babies.  
  
"They are dying! In a horrible, painful way!" Eoin shouted at her.  
  
"I won't let you end their life! Are you their father or not? We can't give up hope, maybe they'll survive!" Cassie pleaded, tears streaming down her face. Zelazny stood up, Bronagh took Seamus' hand and they went for a walk outside, by the forest where they had found the lake of water in a time that seemed ages before now.  
  
"Did I ever tell you what my name means Seamus?" Bronagh said softly. They were sitting on a rotted trunk of an ancient tree, Zelazny mindlessly peeling the bark off of it while Seamus sat on his mother's lap. Shaking his head, Seamus didn't say anything. All he could think of was his cousins' limp forms and cries of pain.  
  
"It means 'lady of sorrow'. My mother once told me a story about a beautiful queen who had my name a long time ago and was locked up in a tower for many years." They spent the rest of the day outside, and when they returned, everyone was asleep.  
  
The next day, Seamus awoke to his parents and uncle and aunt sitting in a circle outside. He got out of the bed, careful to keep the blankets from disturbing Siobhan and Declan's sleep as he walked outside.  
  
The adults looked up, heavy, sad eyes watching him. Seamus was used to this look by now, he hardly remembered what Aunt Cassie looked like when her face wasn't stained with tears.  
  
"We've decided to decide what to do to help your cousins, Seamus," His father said solemnly. His mother didn't meet his eyes. Uncle Eoin tightened his arm around his wife as Seamus sat down next to his mother.  
  
"I don't understand," he said. Hadn't they been doing everything they could? Hadn't they asked everyone for help and advice on what to do to cure his cousins?  
  
"What do you think Seamus? Should we end Siobhan and Declan's life before they Magog eggs hatch out and kill them?" His father continued, but Seamus' eyes grew wide with confusion.  
  
"What?" he asked softly. Tears filling her eyes, Bronagh held out her arms to him, but Seamus didn't go to her.  
  
"Honey, I know it's hard for you to understand, you're so young, but Siobhan and Declan are suffering. We need to know you understand why we're doing this," Doing what? Seamus shook his head in confusion.  
  
"Seamus, the only difference will be whether they die in pain and agony or if they die swiftly and painlessly. Which would you want them to have?"  
  
"I don't want them to be in pain," Seamus said quietly, not looking at his aunt and uncle.  
  
"Come on, Seamus," His mother whispered. She stood up, took his hand, and led him to the woods they'd gone to yesterday.  
  
"Wait, I have to say goodbye," He said, and tried to pull away, but Bronagh tightened her grip and quickened her pace. Seamus never saw Siobhan or Declan again. They were buried by the time they finally returned. His parents had also decided to try and join the refugee camp along with Kaleigh and Brendan. Cassie refused to leave the resting place of her children, and Eoin wouldn't leave his wife. To Seamus, it seemed as though his family, and life, were falling apart. And he wouldn't celebrate his seventh birthday for another year.  
  
It took a few more months before they could move to the camp. With tearful greetings, they said goodbye to his Aunt and Uncle and began their walk, with a few hundred others, to the Boston Harbor Refugee Camp. It looked like some sort of bizarre pilgrimage, everyone wearing tattered clothing and belongings, with despair behind them and hope of salvation ahead of them.  
  
To Seamus, the mood appeared to be lightened somewhat, and he looked forward to seeing his cousin Brendan again. He missed Siobhan and Declan so much, and he refused to talk about them to his parents, not even to his mother.  
  
After days of walking, they at last reached the gates to the camp. The line of people became narrower and longer as they waited to be allowed in. It took nearly another day before they reached the office.  
  
"Name," A tall, armed Nietzschean said. Seamus stared at them in awe. He was small for his age, and to him the many Nietzschean guards looked like giants. One of the guards beside the one that had asked their name held something in her hand. Seamus struggled to see what it was, but his father placed his hands on his shoulders, holding him in place.  
  
"Zelazny Frederick Harper, my wife Bronagh Rhiannon Harper, and Seamus Zelazny Harper," As he spoke and spelled out the names, the guard with the object in his hand moved his fingers across the machine. They were asked their ages and a few other questions, but Seamus was too busy looking around to listen.  
  
"Hold the kid," The armed one said as the other leaned towards him, holding out a needle.  
  
"Hold still Seamus," His mother whispered. Obeying, Seamus didn't move, but he yelped in pain as the guard pressed the needle into the back of his neck and a sensation of burning ran down his spine. "It's ok honey, I know it feels strange but it's fine," His mother continued to whisper. The guards grinned maliciously as they were pushed to another stop point.  
  
"You'll work in the mines, you'll be a maid in the house of one of the Elder Daughters, and the kid will be assigned work when's he's older," Eyeing the scrawny child, the guard laughed, "Unless he dies first,"  
  
They were given further instructions on the laws of the camp and where their jobs were.  
  
"Any disobedience and you're freedom is forfeit," The guard warned. "And don't try to escape, the chips put in you earlier let us know where you are at all times. They can be destroyed if you run away," Zelazny assured him they wouldn't try to run away and with that, they entered their new home.  
  
The city was gray, and buildings everywhere looked worn and about to collapse. People were everywhere, and the smell was wretched. It made Seamus' eyes water and it made him feel sick. His father carried him since he didn't have shoes and the streets were lined with filth. Although they searched all night they didn't find an empty building, and they ended up sleeping in an abandoned one story building filled with other sleeping bodies. Seamus slept in his mother's arms, shivering as he tried to get warm. In the morning, Zelazny and Bronagh had to go to their assigned work areas. With a kiss and hug, Bronagh told Seamus to be careful and stay away from strangers.  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can," She said softly, brushing her hand through his hair and leaving with his father. Seamus tried to go back to sleep, but it eluded him without his mother's warmth. So he got up and went to explore his new world. He stepped over other bodies as he made his way outside. Stepping on something sharp, he cried out, only to be told to stay quiet. Wandering outside, he watched as people stared at him, or ignored him; all walked around quickly. Several groups of Nietzscheans wandered around, armed with guns and dressed for the cold much better than the humans who walked around.  
  
Seamus spent his first day there wandering around the streets, keeping the building they had slept at in sight all the time. There wasn't much to see, although he found several interesting dumps that were practically a playground, filled with other kids. Seamus rummaged through, finding many strange items he asked the other kids what they were. Looking at him as though he were some kind of idiot, they explained the strange technologies there. Fascinated, Seamus watched the Nietzscheans on the streets to see what devices they used. Usually they only use slim silver bars to hit people with, and it sent some kind of electric currents through them.  
  
The first day was the hardest, but soon Seamus began to settle into his new life. He wandered the streets while his parents were at work. They finally built a small hut, similar to the one in Dunwich, and they began to create a life for themselves.  
  
They didn't find Brendan for many months, and when he did turn up on their doorstep, thinner and more haggard than when they had last seen them, he tearfully explained that his mother had caught sick and died. He'd fallen sick as well and had gone unconscious with the fever. When he had finally recovered and woken up, his mother was dead beside him.  
  
That night, Zelazny and Bronagh watched the two boys sleeping on the floor together, looking like brothers.  
  
"I always wanted a large family," Bronagh said softly. Zelazny slipped his arms around her waist.  
  
"We could have more kids," He said doubtfully. "We have a Zelazny junior, we need a Bronagh as well," They smiled, but Bronagh shook her head.  
  
"I'm afraid I'll never have any more children." She rested her head against his shoulder.  
  
"It nearly killed you with him," Zelazny whispered into her ear. "You're right, no child is worth your death," Bronagh turned to look at him, surprise in her face.  
  
"What are you talking about? Seamus is worth my life," She said, only just remembering to keep her voice low.  
  
"I'm tired, let's go to sleep," Zelazny didn't answer her but when to lie down on their bed. After a few moments of watching the boys, Bronagh turned to follow him. Lying on his side away facing away from them, Seamus closed his eyes and tried to sleep.  
  
Two long years passed by slowly. Brendan taught Seamus how to avoid the Nietzscheans. For his part, Seamus simply liked to go to the dumps and look for interesting things. Sometimes he'd try and repair the broken items, but since he didn't know that most of them were for, it didn't usually work. His work was also hampered by hiding every time the Nietzscheans came by, since it would have been considered stealing for him to take their trash. Brendan usually stayed with him, but found the dumps boring. He preferred to go watch the ships take off and land. They had to watch from a distance of course, but there was a hill that they could see from perfectly without being too close to be seen.  
  
"Where do they go?" Seamus asked once as they watched a ship rise off the ground and slowly ascend into the air.  
  
"Into space of course, you dummy, don't you know anything?"  
  
"Where in space? Where is there to go?" Seamus insisted. So Brendan explained to him about the different worlds in the galaxies. Some of it he made up, but he had overheard people talking in the 'bars' and other areas. Planets where there was still green, or whatever color their vegetation was. Strange beings who weren't like the Nietzscheans or the Magog but were sometimes kind enough to give him food if they passed by in the streets. Humans who never got sick, but weren't Nietzscheans. Humans who never lacked for food, or living areas. This was the strangest of all to Seamus. Weren't all the humans left on earth? If not, why didn't they help those who were?  
  
"Because that's life Seamus. It's shit, and there's nothing we can do about it," Brendan would say. He was worried about his naïve cousin who seemed to think everyone was friendly and nice if you were polite back. Still, Seamus was catching on. He had helped Brendan mug some flash addicts a few days back. They'd nearly gotten killed, but then they'd used the money to help buy food. It was the life Seamus was learning to live. He began to hate it quickly.  
  
One night he woke up and lay listening to the rats, which would probably be their dinner the next day, fighting. Silently he stood up and looked around the darkness, feeling as though he were in a dream. Slipping outside the door, he was careful not to make any noise. His parents had forbidden him or Brendan from ever going outside at night. Dangerous as the camp always was, it was worse at night. Not only from the other human residents, but Nietzscheans who were looking for sport and fun when they were off duty. Still, Seamus oddly didn't feel afraid. He felt invigorated as he looked up and saw the faint stars. A crazy idea came to him; to sneak over to the space station, as he and Brendan had called it, and get as close to the ships as he could. He stole away in the night, ignoring the people coaxing him to buy some drugs, or to sell them something. Ignoring them, he jogged quickly through the alleys, trying not to be frightened of the sounds and strange shapes lurking in the shadows.  
  
He reached the station and slipped through the metal bars that fenced it in. They were supposed to be too skinny for anyone to fit through, but Seamus was able to pass through them easily. There were fewer guards posted there at night, and fewer ships landed. He saw one loading up to take off and he ran towards it. He couldn't explain the feeling he got, he just knew that he wanted to jump in and be taken wherever it was going, and to never, ever, return. So he did. He ran to the ship, silently and kept out of sight. As soon as he had plunged through the doorway a sharp pain in the back of his neck made him scream. The pain increased and he struggled to his feet, lost his balance, and fell back to the ground. Forms surrounded him but the pain threw him into darkness before he could see them.  
  
"What the hell's the matter with you?" His father shouted at him. Seamus was huddling in a blanket back at home. His mother was silent, dabbing the wounds on his face and chest with a cloth and some water. "What in all the hells possessed you to try and do something so stupid? You could have gotten us all killed! You could have been killed! Would you just leave us after all we've done for you?" Zelazny ran a hand through his hair. He had lost a lot of weight since working at the mines, and he'd started coughing regularly. Seamus was quiet, tears stinging in his eyes as she avoided the looks of Brendan or his mother.  
  
His father stormed out of the small hut, and Brendan watched them silently. Seeing his tears, Bronagh hugged Seamus.  
  
"Oh honey, don't listen to your father." She pulled him away gently and looked him in the eye. "The first chance you get, you get out of here. Get off this planet. Don't worry about me and your father."  
  
"What about Brendan?" Seamus asked softly, rubbing his tears away quickly. Brendan let out a disgusted laugh.  
  
"Don't worry about it Seamus, neither of us are ever leaving, so it doesn't matter." He stood up and followed Seamus' father out the door. Bronagh sighed, but smiled weakly at Seamus.  
  
Weeks went by without further incident. Seamus recovered from the beating given to him by the Nietzscheans. He was only save from slavery or death by his age, and the pleas of his mother and father. Seamus spent more and more time tinkering with the objects in the dumps. He was sometimes able to make a few simple items. There was an old air cleaner that was pretty easy to fix, and his dad even hugged him when he brought it home and showed how it worked proudly. Brendan spent more time stealing, so Seamus stayed at the dumps by himself. Sometimes he met other humans there, doing what he was doing. Only they seemed to understand how the things worked better than he did. One man, who called himself Larry, came often and had taken a liking to Seamus.  
  
"See this? It's a tool, it can weld things together," he once told him, holding up a rusted metal hand tool. Seamus nodded solemnly, the handkerchief his mother had tied around his mouth and nose to protect him from the fumes making him feel foolish. Larry had been teaching him how various tools worked and what technology could do. Seamus listened carefully, hanging on to every word. Larry explained how the Nietzscheans might let him work at a mechanic shop if he was lucky. That would be a good thing, "You've got a knack for this stuff, I can tell," he said with a wink. "Just don't let them experiment the stuff on you, or you'll be dead sooner than a baby dangled on a hook in front of a Magog," The Magog attacks had increased, and his parents had heard nothing from Aunt Carrie or Uncle Eoin. They assumed they were alive, but Brendan told Seamus it was stupid to think they could possibly still be alive. "Uh oh, gotta run kid," Larry slid down the pile of filth and darted away. Looking around, Seamus saw a group of Nietzschean soldiers coming towards them. His heart beating fast with fear he ran down the pile of trash, slipped, and rolled down to the ground. They yelled at him to stop, but he ignored them and kept running, as fast as he could. He'd become good at running, though small, he could outrun even Brendan.  
  
Pushing through the crowds, Seamus ran towards the house. He could hide in the hole they'd dug under the floor boards, and since his parents were still at work there'd be no one else for the Nietzscheans to bother. Panting, Seamus dashed in the house, and froze when he saw his mother standing there.  
  
"Where've you been Seamus? I got the day off because my lady is ill- " She saw the fear in his eyes and asked. "What's wrong?" She saw the metallic object in his hand, heard the feet and shouts of the Nietzscheans outside and she grew pale. "Seamus, hide," Bronagh pushed him to the floor, opened the loose board, and shoved him inside and managed to stand just as the Nietzscheans burst inside.  
  
"Where's the brat?" One spat out, holding his gun up to her. Seamus watched in horror through a small crack in the floor.  
  
"What are you talking about? My boy's out, I don't know what he's up to anymore," She said, crossing her arms. The man in front of the others backhanded her to the ground.  
  
"Don't play with us kludge. We saw him come in here. Stealing is a crime punishable by death, although if you beg hard enough we might just take him as a slave." The others smiled menacingly.  
  
"He's done nothing wrong, please," Bronagh cried our from the ground. They kicked her, and she rolled onto the board above Seamus, blocking his view. They tortured her for nearly three hours, until Seamus wondered if they'd forgotten why they had come in the first place. He lay flat on the ground, covering his ears as hard as he could to block out the sounds of pain that came from her. He didn't know what they did to her and he didn't want to know. Long after they left and there was silence the lay there, with his hands over his ears.  
  
He heard a door open, and a gasp. His father had come home.  
  
"Bronagh! Oh god, Bronagh!" Finally, crying uncontrollably, Seamus pushed the floor board open and climbed out. His father was kneeling on the floor, his back to Seamus, cradling Bronagh's dead body.  
  
"I'm sorry," Seamus said through his tears. His dad didn't appear to hear him, but continued sobbing and holding onto his wife. Time passed, Seamus didn't know how much, he just stood there shaking and crying. Finally Zelazny turned, hugged Seamus tightly, then picked up Bronagh's body and walked out of the door.  
  
Some hours later Brendan came in, exhausted. He could smell the blood immediately, and ran over to Seamus, who was huddling in the corner and crying, as soon as he came in. Brendan didn't ask what had happened, he slung an arm around Seamus and they sat there for the rest of the night, Seamus finally crying himself to sleep.  
  
Early the next morning Zelazny came back in, he stunk of alcohol, and Brendan asked softly.  
"What happened? Where's Aunt Bronagh?" He didn't move from his position so he wouldn't disturb Seamus. Zelazny raised a shaking hand and pointed to Seamus.  
  
"He killed 'er, that's what 'appened," Was all he said before collapsing onto the bed and not moving again. Brendan woke Seamus up and carried him out of the house.  
  
"Where are we going?" Seamus asked.  
  
"Don't worry, we're just going to spend a few days with some friends of mine," Brendan replied. His 'friends' turned out to be a gang whom Brendan had joined some time ago. He asked if Seamus could stay with them for awhile, until his dad wasn't so upset about his wife's death, and they agreed, as long as he wasn't any trouble. They stayed there for nearly two weeks, Seamus staying away from the older boys and girls and only talking to Brendan. At last, judging that his Uncle's rage had calmed some, Brendan took Seamus back to his home.  
  
"Aren't you coming?" Seamus asked as Brendan didn't move towards the door.  
  
"I think I've been a burden on you guys long enough," Brendan said quietly. Seamus shook his head and ran to Brendan, trying to pull him inside.  
  
"Please! You can't leave me alone!" Seamus begged as Brendan didn't move. Slowly he shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry Seamus. Don't worry, I'll check on you and make sure you're ok," With that he turned and walked down into the dirty gray streets and disappeared among the crowd. Trembling, Seamus slowly opened the door. His father was no where in sight, so Seamus assumed he was at work. Hungry, he searched for food and found none, only some strange bottles. They smelled bad, so Seamus searched for water. There was no clean water, obviously his dad hadn't had time to de-contaminate any, in other words, he hadn't boiled it at all. Seamus was too tired to try and start a fire. He hadn't slept well at the gang's home and he felt exhausted from grief and anger. So he opened one of the bottles again and forced himself to drink it. Before he knew it the whole bottle was gone and he felt sick. Crawling over to the blankets on the floor, still in the same place he had last left them, he fell asleep.  
  
When he woke up, he saw his father sitting against the door, drinking from one of the bottles. He glanced over and smiled weakly at Seamus.  
  
"Where ya been kid?" He asked in a raspy voice, coughs racking his throat.  
  
"Brendan took me away," Was all Seamus said in reply. His dad nodded then motioned for him to come sit next to him, which he did. Handing him a bottle, Zelazny stood up.  
  
"I gotta get to work. I'll see you later," His father turned and walked out the door, leaving Seamus wishing for some clean water since he hadn't been clean in a month, hole-ridden, dirty clothes, and a bottle of nearly raw alcohol cradled in his ten year old arms.  
  
End of Chapter 1  
  
I hope you liked it, sorry it was so long. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome. Please review! It doesn't have to be long! I need to know if I should bother continuing it or not. If you can't write a review, email me at Runicprincess@aol.com Thanks!  
  
-Luna Sealeaf 


	2. Lessons In Survival

Thank you Angel for your review, I appreciate it. I hope this second chapter is as good as or better than the first. Anyway, on to the next chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: No, I don't own these characters, and I am not making a profit off of this. The only characters I created were Seamus' family, other than Brendan, and I stole the names Siobhan and Declan from one of the episodes.  
  
Pronunciation: The Irish names, meanings, spellings, and pronunciations are all correct, as far as I know.  
Bronagh (Bro-nah)  
Kaleigh (Kay-lee)  
Eoin (Owe-in)  
Declan (Deck-lawn)  
Siobhan (Shiv-an)  
  
Life of a Kludge: Volume 1: Barely But a Man  
Chapter 2: 10-13 years old  
  
"Down came her father, he's standing at the door, saying 'Jeanie you are trying the tricks of a whore, you care nothing for a man, who cares so very much for thee, you must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie,"  
  
'.Mom?...'  
  
"With Annachie Gordon, I beg for my bread, before I marry Sultan his gold to my head! With gold to my head, and straight down to my knee, and I'll die if I don't get my love, Annachie!"  
  
'.Mom?!...where are you?'  
  
Seamus Harper awoke with a cry as his mother's voice faded, the song falling silent. Brushing away the tears his mother's memory brought to him, he looked around the small wooden shanty he was lying in. Reality was not as nice as his dream of his Mom. He had seen her; her beautiful red hair, bright green eyes. He'd heard her accented voice, felt her soft touch.and then he'd woken up.  
  
Shivering, Seamus pulled the blanket around him tighter. This was the first night he'd slept peacefully, with sweet dreams rather than nightmares. Ever since his father's death, Seamus had been racked with nightmares of finding his father's cold, dead body lying on the floor. He known his father was ill; the mines had given him some sort of infection in his lungs. Zelazny's coughing had grown worse over the months following Bronagh's death. Upon waking up to find him dead, Seamus had panicked. It would make perfect sense to make Seamus take his father's place in the mines. So he had run before the Nietzscheans came to see why Zelazny Harper had stopped going to work.  
  
He hadn't seen Brendan in a few weeks and it hadn't occurred to him to look for his older cousin. Instead, he had run blindly through the streets and alleys. Finally he'd found a small, dilapidated wooden house, so small that it must have been built for a dog a long, long time ago.  
  
Still, after he'd added a few more sides to it, it was rather homey. Seamus had discovered he had a knack for building things. With a sigh of regret, he realized that he'd left the heater he had fixed at the house after he'd left. Well, it was too late to go back and get it.  
  
Crawling outside, Seamus stood up and stretched. He tied the blanket around him and started walking. His first thoughts were food, but he also wanted to look for Brendan. The sky was a pale gray and the sun's weak light felt unnatural and held no warmth. On days like this, Brendan could usually be found under an old bridge near the harbor. Of course, it was possible Brendan had been taken, or had been killed. Shaking his head, Seamus ignored these thoughts. Brendan was invincible; he'd always been in charge of everything around him, and he'd never go and leave Seamus all alone in the world.  
  
Growls from his stomach made Seamus stop walking and wonder if he should eat first or find Brendan at the bridge first. Another growl prompted Seamus to alter his course slightly and head for the marketplace. That was the nickname given to the small square outside of the ship docking bay. The few crazy non-Nietzscheans who landed on the planet would go into the city through the marketplace, and they were usually swarmed with people trying to sell something, steal, or beg from them. Seamus was usually one of the beggars; he had nothing to sell, but he'd stolen before. Being a young child, who looked even younger than his ten years because of his size, helped. He was also a good looking child, he thought with pride. Brendan would laugh and call him pretty to tease him, but Seamus had a small vein of pride in his bright blue eyes and wheat blonde hair. Brendan had repeatedly mentioned that he regretted ever showing Seamus a mirror after Seamus had exclaimed at his looks for the hundredth time.  
  
Remembering his cousin's laugh, Seamus smiled as he quickened his pace. He liked to make Brendan laugh, it was the only time he ever felt like Brendan enjoyed spending time with him, and didn't merely help him because he was family. Sometimes Seamus had joked about his looks just to see Brendan laugh. He hadn't laughed in a long time though, and he didn't think he could say anything that would make Brendan laugh. Lately his nightmares had seemed to combine every bad memory he had; the magog attack, Siobhan and Declan's death, and the more recent death of his father.  
  
As he got closer to the marketplace, Seamus thought he could smell enticing odors of food, but he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination. It wasn't; a large crowd blocked his view but he could tell there was something important happening at the center of the square.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked a short wiry woman who was trying to peer over the shoulders of those in front of her.  
  
"Someone important's stopped 'ere. I think they're making a treaty with the Nietzscheans. Rumors says it's against they're culture to eat indoors. Anyway, there's whole tables full of food surrounded by guards," at the end of her sentence, the woman was talking more to herself than to Seamus, but he didn't care. At the word 'food' he was jumping up and down trying to see. He slipped through the crowd, finding small gaps between people that most would overlook. Pretty soon he reached the front of the crowd, and then he stood there gaping. A few Nietzscheans were standing around the tables with large guns. The guests of honor had apparently not come out yet, and the food remained uneaten; the hot aromas nearly driving Seamus insane. He hadn't had good food in so long.he couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a meal. Probably not since his mother's death, or maybe even since they'd left the country to move to the city.  
  
He stood in front of the crowd staring at the food for a few minutes. Then he did something that could only be described as stupid. The guests had been announced and the guards had moved forward to form honor lines. The food was unguarded, for the moment. How could he not seize this opportunity? Dashing forward, Seamus grabbed something-he didn't even stop to look-off of the table and ran. Shouts were heard, but it took a moment for the guards to realize what had happened. Others followed his example, and soon chaos took over as the crowd surged forward to fight off the Nietzscheans and to steal the food. Seamus didn't see this as he continued running, but he heard the noise as he stuffed the food he'd stolen into his mouth. It tasted strange, but he didn't care. Feeling like he had run far enough, he stopped to keep eating the hot, orange food. It had the consistency of bread, but it tasted more like some sort of fruit.  
  
For a few moments, he felt like he was in heaven. Then he heard the heavy footsteps behind him. Swinging around in panic, he saw two large Nietzschean guards coming towards him with incredibly angry looks on their faces. In defiance, Seamus stuffed the rest of the food into his mouth. He knew there was no way he could outrun them, still, he turned and ran anyway. He'd managed to run maybe a few yards before he felt something hard and heavy hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. It was a rock. His vision swam before him, and all he felt was one heavy kick to his stomach before the world went dark.  
  
When he woke up, it was still dark. The lights of stars in the sky hurt his eyes, but he didn't close them. He'd never noticed how beautiful the stars were, and he wondered what it would be like to see one in space. That thought was quickly replaced the pain he felt everywhere. Someone was shaking him, focusing on the person he realized who it was.  
  
"Brendan?" he croaked out, trying to sit up and wincing as he did so.  
  
"Idiot! How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?" Brendan replied, not too harshly, but being less than gentle as he pulled Seamus to his feet. Seamus was too disoriented to understand what Brendan was talking about.  
  
"What happened? How'd you find me?"  
  
"You stole from the Nietzscheans you idiot! And it wasn't too hard, everyone was talking about some crazy blonde kid who'd ran off with food meant for an official banquet and then got chased by some guards. They were still beating you when I found you, and sorry kid, but I couldn't go up against a pair of Nietzscheans. At least they didn't kill you," While he spoke, Brendan helped Seamus to walk; holding him up until Seamus regained the use of his legs.  
  
"'S their fault for putting all that food in front of us starving people. What were they playing at anyway? Their guests were impressed by their management of Earth?" Seamus replied bitterly, limping alongside Brendan. "And where are we going? Where have you been the past few weeks?"  
  
"I'm taking you home. Wait till Uncle Zel hears about this," Brendan said, his thirteen year old voice squeaking slightly until he cleared it. Seamus didn't say anything immediately.  
  
"Dad's dead Brendan," he finally said quietly. Brendan stopped walking and let go of him to stare in disbelief.  
  
"Your dad's dead? When? Where've you been staying?" Seamus explained how his current situation had come to be. Brendan nodded his approval about running away from the house.  
  
"That was smart."  
  
"Don't sound so surprised," Seamus said, smiling weakly. Brendan laughed and kept walking, this time in a different direction.  
  
"Come on then, guess you'll have to stay with me." Seamus suddenly felt uncomfortable and didn't follow him.  
  
"If it's too much trouble, you don't have to take care of me, I can take care of myself," Seamus said, studying the ground. Brendan stopped and turned, looking Seamus up and down pointedly before answering.  
  
"Fine job you're doing there. Don't be stupid Seamus, you're my only living family, we're not leaving each other," Seamus smiled then and followed Brendan as he continued to walk, Brendan rolling his eyes. "You seem to have recovered well, considering you look like a bloody pulp,"  
  
"So where are we going now?" Seamus asked instead of answering his comment.  
  
"Somewhere safe," was all Brendan would answer. Seamus at last gave up his questioning as they trudged slowly across the dead field. At last they reached a cliff, looking down Seamus saw a strange rolling mass of darkness.  
  
"Brendan, what is that?" Seamus asked, a tremor of fear in his voice.  
  
"The ocean," Brendan replied, then grabbed his arm and helped him slowly descend down the rocky surface. The remains of a beach lay before the ocean, but Brendan didn't let Seamus go near it, explaining that no one knew quite what was in the water and what had made homes in the sand, and that it was best no one did find out. Seamus still didn't know where Brendan was taking him; all he could see was the rocky side of the cliff, which Brendan was climbing around.  
  
"Here we are, now stay quiet and let me talk," Brendan said in a whisper. Confused, and distracted as the pain of his wounds increased, Seamus did nothing.  
  
Brendan picked up a large stone from the ground and then hit it twice against a sharp protruding rock. Seamus winced at the sound, and then, to his amazement, a door opened in the wall. Slowly, the very rocks Seamus had been staring at sunk into the darkness.  
  
"Hurry up, someone might've heard that," a skinny, pale girl said. Her shrill voice scared Seamus, but Brendan was pulling him inside. The door led to a large open cavern, almost completely dark, except for a few small torches. More fire than that and everyone inside would have suffocated.  
  
"Who's that?" A tall, brown haired boy asked Brendan. He was really nearly an adult, surely older than Brendan, and clearly he was in charge. With a nod of his head, Brendan wrapped an arm around Seamus' shoulders.  
  
"He's my cousin, Amos," Brendan said with a grin.  
  
"You sure we can trust him? Has he got any use?" The boy asked in a bored tone, obviously not caring how Brendan knew him.  
  
"Bre-" Seamus started to protest, confused. His name certainly wasn't Amos! However, a tight squeeze near his neck from his cousin shut him up.  
  
"The last one you brought, Danny, did nothing but eat our food, then went and got himself killed, nearly gave us away!" The brown haired boy continued, arms folded across his broad chest.  
  
"He can build things, and fix them," Brendan explained. Seamus nodded in agreement when the boy questioned him. So it was settled, Seamus joined Brendan in the underground cave. The children inside were members of a gang, or would be when they were older and could join the higher ranks. For now they proved their worth, finding food and goods to give to their leaders to sell on the black markets, or to Nietzscheans. Seamus understood Brendan's secrecy then; if no one knew your real name, no one could sell you out. 'Amos' quickly became accepted once he proved his intelligence. Not only could he build the most useful things, heaters, parts for ships, weapons, he could deliver them quickly as well, and without notice.  
  
It was on one such delivery, two years later, that he tried it. There was a man who worked at the docks, Seamus was to deliver some sort of device, he didn't know what it was, only that it was a small computer chip of some sort, but he didn't really care. He'd only asked for this job so he could get a closer look at the ships. Ships meant freedom, no matter what Brendan would say. Seamus intended to find out exactly how they worked. So after finishing the job, instead of leaving as quickly as he could, he lingered. This was the first time he'd been on the inside part of the gates since he was eight, and had tried to escape.  
  
There they were; their pilots, mechanics, crewmembers, all looking grim and not so happy to be there. All different species, negotiating with Nietzscheans, although for what, Seamus didn't know. HE stood there, watching it all, from behind a low fence that barred one of the buildings from the actual docks. The man he had delivered the chip to had told him to leave that way, but instead of actually going, he remained, watching it all. For hours, he stared at the large machines, music from a window in the building drifting out to accompany the sounds. It sounded old; Nietzscheans were obsessed with old music, he'd heard, although he didn't think that made sense.  
  
Dark fell, soon there were only a few ships left, and the buildings were closing. Nietzschean guards were also leaving. Some would have to go out where Seamus was hiding, and he was about to sneak off when he saw it; an open hatch. The pilot was some distance away, talking to a Nietzschean guard, neither could see the back of the ship, where the opening was. Heart beating faster, Seamus took a quick look around.  
  
"If you ever get a chance out of here, take it, no matter what," He heard his mother echo in his head. A strange drumming filled his ears, and before he realized what he was doing, he ran. Ran to the ship, up the ramp, and then he was inside it! Free! Then his scream erupted through the night as a pain as hot as fire exploded in his neck. It blinded him, he could hear nothing, not even his own scream, but this time unconsciousness wasn't kind enough to fall over him. Soon he felt, through the haze of pain, hands pulling him off, down the ramp, and back to the ground. One last, sharp pain that spread through his neck and his body, and then it stopped. He shivered, covered in sweat and shaking.  
  
"Stupid kludge," a Nietzschean sneered at him, but his ears still weren't working right and Seamus didn't hear it. They wanted to know how he had gotten there, how had he gotten through the security at the gates? He wouldn't tell them. They beat him, but it was nothing to the pain he'd felt in his neck, still fresh in his mind. They offered him a reward to tell who had sent him, and if he hadn't cared about Brendan, he would have taken it. Disgusted, they threw him in the prisons, where he stayed for weeks. News must have reached the gang at some point, for at some point he was taken from the cell and thrown onto the street. When he realized where he was, a few blocks from the marketplace, he knew he was supposed to wait for one of the members to take him somewhere safe, or to verify that he wasn't a traitor. No one came though; he waited all night, still recovering from his ordeal, but no one came. At last, as morning dawned, he felt himself being kicked with a foot.  
  
"If you're alive, then move, you're in my spot," a gruff old man said. Seamus lifted his head, saw that no one had come for him, and left. He didn't know where to go; if the gang had wanted him to return, indeed, if they were even still alive, they would have come for him. It might be dangerous to Brendan for him to return to the cave, and he owed him too much to do that. He'd been nothing but trouble to Brendan, and now it was his turn to take care of himself. So he went to the only place he'd felt at home other than the cabin in the countryside; the dump. No one bothered him there, as long as he escaped notice from the Nietzscheans, and he was able to trade what he built for food. He even managed to get a new set of clothes from a woman whose child had died. She offered to take care of him, but he refused.  
  
For months he stayed at the dump; as winter drew on, he buried into the trash along with countless others to stay warm. The heaters he built were stolen if he didn't trade them quickly, so he kept none for himself. Slowly, though he did not realize it, he became known. He never bothered to hide his name from those who bought his supplies, what was the point? It was only on one bitterly cold afternoon when he was just polishing some sort of welder and watching the snow that he learned about it. He was wondering why the rain was unsafe, as it was mostly acidic, but the snow remained undamaged. It was the most beautiful thing he'd seen, and he wasn't paying much attention to his work when he heard someone call up to him, for he was sitting near the top of a pile of parts,  
  
"Are you the genius boy, Seamus Harper?" Startled, he looked down, prepared to run, then relaxed as he saw it was a young woman. She was clutching a few blankets around herself and staring up at him. He stared back at her, confused. Genius?  
  
"Yeah, what do you want?" He asked.  
  
"I was wondering if you have any food," Seamus glared down at her. Did it look like he had any food? He was skinnier than her, practically skeletal, and the cold he had wasn't improving his mood towards any charitable causes.  
  
"Have you got anything to give me?" He called back down to her. She held something up, but he couldn't see it, so cautiously he slid down the pile of junk. In her hand was band of leather, with odd shaped metal sticking out of pockets in it.  
  
"If you have some food, I'll gladly give you this." The woman was shaking from the cold so hard that he almost couldn't make out her words.  
  
"What is it?" He leaned forward to examine it, and she pulled it away, afraid he would steal it and run.  
  
"It's a tool belt, it belonged to my ancestors. My great-great-great- great grandfather was a carpenter," She explained. Seamus eyed her skeptically.  
  
"What good are they now?" How could some ancient tools be useful to him?  
  
"They still work, mostly," Seamus at last took pity on the woman. She was practically blue and he knew she wouldn't leave him alone until he traded with her.  
  
"Hold on a sec," he muttered, then went to dig at another pile of rubbish. For a loaf of bread and a rotten apple, he gained an ancient artifact. To his surprise, it truly did provide some use. They served the same functions that the tools he'd seen now did; only these took much longer to use and couldn't do as much. He came to like it very much, and smiled to himself when he recalled her calling him a genius. That term had rarely been used around him, but he knew the general meaning of it. A famous genius no less; and he couldn't even read or write! It became a source of pride that would stay with him to the end of his days. Only a month later, however, he came to wish he'd never been gifted with such a smart brain. He was sleeping peacefully in his small nest in the dump when he was awoken with a boot grinding into his shoulder. A large boot. Opening his eyes, he saw a gun pointed at him, with a Nietzschean behind it, and two others behind him, all leering at the boy.  
  
"Are you the kludge Seamus Zelazny Harper?" The one with the gun pointed at him asked. Not moving, Seamus nodded slowly. "Get up," The Nietzschean commanded. When Seamus didn't move fast enough, he reached over and jerked him to his feet. "How old are you?" Seamus had to think; he didn't really know, since he'd lost track of the days.  
  
"Thirteen," he guessed, he knew he was somewhere around that age by now.  
  
"It's about time you started earning a living, don't you think?" The guard asked, keeping an iron grip on Seamus' arm. He had to bight back a retort, he didn't know whether they were playing with him before they killed him, or if he was being taken to the mines.  
  
"How?" he asked, swallowing hard before he managed to get the word out.  
  
"Oh, I could think of a number of ways," One of the Nietzscheans behind the leader said softly, leaning forward to turn his chin up. "Look at him! Longer hair and he'd look just like a girl," They laughed, and Seamus glared at them, tugging at his arm.  
  
"Quit that; don't be an idiot," the one holding his arm said, jerking him to be still.  
  
"We've got orders to take you someplace where you can be of use," The last one spoke for the first time. At last, Seamus lifted his gaze from the ground, looking at the three large, strong Nietzscheans. They started walking, dragging him along.  
  
"You've made quite a name for yourself, for a kludge, but now you're actually going to be worth something," Seamus didn't know which one said that, he was too busy trying to think of a way to escape them. "If you're really as smart as they say, you're bound to fit right in at the labs," A sense of dread came over him, and he struggled against their grasp until finally one slung him over their shoulder and continued walking, ignoring his fists as he tried to escape. He'd heard about the labs, people who went in never came out. Seamus was going to become a test subject.  
  
End of Chapter 2  
Vol. 1  
  
I hoped you liked it, sorry it took so long to write. Please, please, please, write a review! Send it to Runicprincess@aol.com if you'd prefer. I'd really like to know what you think of it.  
-Luna Sealeaf 


	3. Cruel Dependence

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed. Thank you so much! I promise I will continue this fanfic for as long as I can, but there may be long periods of no updates because of my lack of time or muse, so please bear with me. This is also the end of Volume 1. Each volume will have three chapters; although I honestly don't know if there will be a volume 3...we'll see.  
  
Disclaimer: No, I don't own these characters, and I am not making a profit off of this. The only characters I created were Seamus' family, other than Brendan, and I stole the names Siobhan and Declan from one of the episodes.  
  
Pronunciation: The Irish names, meanings, spellings, and pronunciations are all correct, as far as I know.  
Bronagh (Bro-nah)  
Kaleigh (Kay-lee)  
Eoin (Owe-in)  
Declan (Deck-lawn)  
Siobhan (Shiv-an)  
  
Volume 1: Chapter 3  
Cruel Dependence  
Age 13-16  
  
Seamus was paralyzed with fear the entire trip to the labs, which were on the other side of the city. How had they found him, let alone heard of him? Surely a few repaired heaters and other small items weren't such a big deal! He didn't voice these questions aloud though, and none of the Nietzscheans said anything to him. People stared as they walked through the streets, and Seamus knew they were all thinking the same thing; 'Better him than me,'  
  
At last they reached the labs; a tall heavy gate surrounded the area, and the head Nietzschean had to scan his fingerprints and eyes for the gates to open. Seamus couldn't stifle a gasp when he saw the building; it was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. There were three large, pure white domed buildings in a triangular patter. They were all about the same size, and there were Nietzschean guards stationed outside the exits.  
  
"What's with the kid?" One of the burly guards asked as he opened the door for the Nietzscheans holding Seamus.  
  
"The kid's a worker," was the gruff reply, and Seamus' heart sank at the sinister laugh of the Nietzscheans.  
  
"Welcome back Caius, is this the kludge?" A tall female Nietzschean, pretty as most were, asked. She was dressed in a long white coat, and her black hair was tied back into a bun.  
  
"Yeah, where do you want him Felise?" Caius, which Seamus realized was Nietzschean in front of him, answered. Felise sighed and shrugged.  
  
"He's not going to my department, let Kylie deal with him," She turned away, Caius shrugged and turned back to the two holding Seamus' arms.  
  
"Someone go find Kylie," With a curt 'Yes sir,' the one holding his left arm quickly went down a hallway to his left. Meanwhile, Seamus was staring at the strange room it was in. He didn't like it, not one bit, and he was busy trying to memorize all the hallways that seemed to lead to this entrance. There was no way he would stay here for long, he wasn't going to let the Nietzscheans use him as a guinea pig until one of their experiments failed and he was the one to suffer for it.  
  
"There you are Kylie, here, take him. He's new, and he'll be working with you and Germanus, go get him settled in." Startled out of his thoughts, Seamus turned to see who Caius was talking to—and froze. A pretty girl about his height was staring up at Caius respectively, hands clasped in front of her.  
  
"Yes sir, come with me," Her red hair-red hair, his mother's hair! Seamus found himself staring at it as she motioned for him to follow. Apparently the Nietzscheans didn't fear that he would run away; probably there was no way he could run away, not yet at least. In any case, he was too busy staring at the girl to pay attention. She was a kludge-a human, he corrected himself mentally. Yet she didn't have the wasted, starving look of most girls his age. Nor did she seem hard, like the girls in the gang he had been in.  
  
Remembering the gang, he thought of Brendan, and his gaze fell to the floor. Would he ever see him again? Even if he managed to escape, something no one else had ever done before, what if Brendan died before he found him again? Did Brendan even care about him anymore? After all, no one had come to look for Seamus since his attempted escape on the ship.  
  
"What's your name?" Kylie asked him, waiting for him to catch up so they could walk side by side. Seamus didn't trust her; she seemed too close to the Nietzscheans, but it couldn't hurt to tell her his name.  
  
"Seamus Zelazny-"He almost told her his last name too, but for some reason he stopped, and went back to staring at the ground.  
  
"Don't worry Seamus; it's not so bad here. I've been here for ten years! As long as you work hard, you'll be treated all right," She was smiling at him, and her voice was kind, but Seamus didn't want any of it. She wasn't a worker; she was a pet! He had no desire to be taken care of by Nietzscheans, and he certainly had no intention of befriending this ally of theirs. So instead of answering, he merely glared at her, than at the ground.  
  
Kylie took him to a small room, instructed him to remove his clothes and to clean himself up, which he did. His hair was cut by a robot, and new clothes, a white tunic and pants like those Kylie was wearing, were given to him. They ate dinner, and while it was obviously the healthiest thing Seamus had had in awhile, it had no taste to it and his thoughts turned wistfully to fresh meat. After the meal, Kylie than led him to a large open room, which she called 'The lab'. Two other boys were there; the short, dark one was called Brad, the other, taller and with blonde hair, was called Rhys. Seamus didn't want to know their names, he didn't tell them his, but Kylie introduced him anyway. Brendan's first rule of survival was to never make friends. They slowed you down; the only person either of them could trust was each other.  
  
Luckily, neither Rhys nor Brad seemed very eager to talk either. All four of them waited in silence, for what, Seamus didn't know. Then a door hissed open and a tall, yet thin, Nietzschean entered.  
  
"Hello Kylie, boys..." His brown gaze ran over everyone's faces, and Seamus felt sick when he saw Kylie's blue eyes sparkle as she replied "Hello Germanus sir!"  
  
"And what have we got here? Another worker?" Before Seamus could snarl a response, Kylie piped up,  
  
"This is Seamus Zelazny sir, he's another worker!" Seamus glared daggers at the girl, but Germanus nodded with a faint smile.  
  
"Good good, we can always use more help, can't we?" Rhys and Brad did nothing, but Kylie nodded eagerly. "Well then, let's get to work. Seamus, you just pay attention for today, but don't worry, you'll catch on soon enough," It was probably the worst thing the Nietzscheans could have done to him; he would have preferred being beaten to this, this, condescending attitude! They were nothing more than slaves, at best pets, and Seamus was expected to be grateful for being taken in off the streets!  
  
The work didn't make sense either; Seamus had a feeling that they weren't told what the real 'project' was; all that the kludges were expected to do was to follow instructions in reading charts, handling a few small harmless tool, and to run errands for Germanus. After his first week there, Seamus had turned to Germanus with hard, cold eyes, and asked,  
  
"What exactly are we doing this for?" This was the first time he'd spoken out loud to anyone after he'd told Kylie his name, and the scientist was visibly startled at it.  
  
"Why, we're doing research Seamus. You're helping us to create advancement in technologies that will better the universe for all," Seamus sneered; he didn't even have to ask what they meant by 'all'. Most likely they were creating some type of weapon, and that thought hurt more than he could bear. All he could do was push that thought out of his head and continue on.  
  
He knew that it really wasn't such a bad life; Kylie had been right, there were no random beatings, and Germanus treated them like harmless children. Technically his life hadn't been much better when he was on his own; they were given two meals a day, and Seamus had once gone a week with no food other than some wild plants. Still, no food or clean clothing could ever compare to what he had had before; his freedom. He couldn't believe the others didn't want the same thing, so during the hours when they were in their bunks, the door securely locked, Seamus started talking to the others.  
  
"Don't you guys wanna get out of here?" He asked once. Rhys shrugged, and Brad glared at him.  
  
"How stupid are you? You think we could escape with our lives? Just shut up man," Brad snapped, then hopped onto his cot, facing away from the others. Rhys merely looked at them with widened eyes. Seamus was disgusted with them, but it wasn't like he needed their help anyway. He'd been memorizing the codes to all the doors, the numbers made a sound when pressed, and since the codes were short, it was fairly easy to remember them.  
  
"But why would you want to escape?" Kylie's small voice broke the silence, and to Seamus' surprise, she looked hurt and baffled.  
  
"Let's see; cos the freakin' ubers own us here, and we can't do anything!" he hadn't expected to have to give reasons, thus his answer wasn't as convincing as he'd have liked it to be.  
  
"But it's not a bad life, think of all the things we're learning!" Kylie protested.  
  
"What do you mean it's not a bad life? We're not even living Kylie! Don't you remember what living is like?" Sure, it wasn't great, but Seamus missed the sky, even if it was rarely blue. He even missed the watery sun, and the dirt, the air, the wind! Things were clean here, yes, but they were sterile as well. There was no life. With a dejected sigh, Seamus climbed onto his bunk, leaving Kylie to her thoughts.  
  
While he didn't agree with her on the living aspect, Kylie had been right when she said they were learning. Oh, they weren't supposed to be of course. There were no lessons; nothing except their tasks were explained to them, but Seamus hardly required a teacher. All he had to do was watch Germanus, and soon he figured out how to work almost every machine. He knew what it could do and how to do it. Kylie apparently knew as well, and Seamus began to have a grudging respect for her. She was obviously as smart as he was, but she had never been able to simply use her intelligence.  
  
Still, with no one but her, Rhys, or Brad to talk to, Seamus found himself talking with her more. He'd never been good at being silent, and when his comments made Kylie laugh, he couldn't help but warm up to her some. They ate meals together, and Seamus asked her about how she had come to live in the science lab.  
  
"Well, my parents worked here when I was young. I don't really remember them, but I guess they made some sort of deal with the Nietzscheans so they wouldn't have to work in a more dangerous place. Anyway, they died when I was four, and the Nietzscheans have let me stay here." When she asked him about his past, Seamus at first was reluctant to tell her more than the raw details. As weeks and months passed however, he found himself confiding more and more to her.  
  
"Do you miss the outside world?" Kylie asked him once, as they were trying to sleep.  
  
"Yeah, but it's not so bad here," Actually, he felt like he was suffocating in the place, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. She reminded him of his mother, and when he told her so once, she had beamed. His brief time of happiness didn't last long though; pets or no, they were kludges working for Nietzscheans.  
  
"All right everyone, today Caius and Felise; you remember them, don't you? - are going to be stopping by to see how we're all doing. Just go about your work and you'll be fine." Seamus glanced at Kylie, but she was staring at the floor. The morning passed quietly, as it always did, but Seamus could almost feel the tension. Even Kylie seemed to grimace at her work. After a few hours, Caius and Felise entered, exchanged pleasantries with Germanus, and began walking around the lab. Sometimes they asked Germanus about the work or the machines, but most of the time they simply watched the children.  
  
"Boy, what are you doing?" Caius barked at Rhys, who was struggling with a heavy tray of equipment. Rhys didn't say anything, he never did, and Seamus had begun to suspect that something was wrong with his head, but Rhys did give Caius a scared look.  
  
"Hang on a sec," Seamus said to Brad, whom he was working on charts with. He rushed over to Rhys to try and help him carry the tray.  
  
"Get back to your own work!" Caius spit out, and pushed Seamus heavily back towards the charts. He crashed into the cabinets, and everything seemed to spin. Then he heard a loud crash, and a scream. Rhys had dropped the tray, startled by Caius, and all of the glass had shattered. "Idiot kludge!" Caius yelled at Rhys, and he struck him. Kylie ran over to him and Brad as Caius continued to beat Rhys, while Germanus and Felise watched indifferently, chatting about the research. At last Felise grabbed Caius' arm.  
  
"Come on, we have to get going. Keep up the good work Germanus." She glanced back at the limp form of Rhys, who was lying on the broken glass in a pool of blood. "Oh, and don't worry, we'll find you a replacement," With a smile and a wave, they left. Germanus dismissed them, telling the three that they had done a good job, and then he left.  
  
Kylie was crying into Seamus' shoulder, and he was shaking. His resolve to escape renewed with a force equal to that of when he first was brought here. Silently, the three walked back to their room. On an impulse he couldn't explain, Seamus turned around and dashed back to Rhys' body. He knelt, as if to say a prayer, and grabbed a long shard of broken glass. Slipping it into his sleeve, he followed the other two to their room.  
  
That night, while the others were sleeping, Seamus took the shard of glass out and looked at it, wondering why he had taken it. Of course, the easiest escape would be to simply kill himself. The glass could cut; all he'd have to do was either cut his wrists or his neck. His neck...suddenly Seamus knew why he had grabbed the glass. The chip at the back of his neck, that was what kept him from escaping the planet. If he got that out, all he'd have to do would be to escape the lab. He'd been able to find ships twice; surely it wouldn't be hard to find another such opportunity. Of course, it would be difficult; he couldn't see the back of his neck, so he'd have to do it by feel alone. Grimacing, he remembered the pain last time he'd tried to get on a ship. It hadn't been on his spinal bone, it had been lower, near his right shoulder.  
  
Hesitantly, he placed his hand on the spot where he thought the pain had been sharpest. It had been nearly a year, but the pain was still sharp in his mind. All he had to do was suffer a little more, and then he'd never have to experience such pain again. His mind decided, he wadded up some sheets and stuck them in his mouth to muffle his screams as much as he could. He would try to not make any noise at all, but he really wasn't sure how much it would hurt. With one last deep breath, his left hand marking the spot where he thought the chip was, the other holding the shard like it was a knife, he started.  
  
If he thought the pain the chip caused was bad, this was almost worse. Tears ran freely down his face, and his breath came out in sharp grunts, muffled by the sheets in his mouth. He could feel the blood streaming down his back, but he held his hand steady. It was awkward in such a position, but soon he felt it; a small square metal chip. He knew what he was doing was practically suicide, but the thought of having no hope of ever leaving Earth made him want to die anyway. So he continued, slowly, hoping he didn't pass out from lack of blood before he was finished. His arm began to ache, although it didn't match the pain in his neck, but after many hours, he felt his hand grasp it. His hands dropped onto the cot, and he stared at the little metal chip. Then he crushed it, watching the pieces fall to the ground. His vision swam before him, and he fell back onto the cot into darkness.  
  
When Kylie awoke the next morning, she sprung out of her cot and turned to wake Seamus up. He slept on the cot above hers, and it had become their ritual for her to wake him up. When she saw him though, covered in blood, she screamed. Brad woke up, startled, and Kylie, hysterical, pointed at Seamus. Brad paled but jumped onto Seamus' cot. It was covered in blood, but Brad didn't care. He dragged Seamus off the cot and set him on the floor.  
  
"He's dead Kylie," He said quietly. She dropped to her knees to look at Seamus, shaking her head.  
  
"No! No he's not Brad! He's still breathing, see?" Much to his surprise, Brad saw Seamus' chest move slowly up and down. Turning him over, Brad looked at his neck and bit his lip. Kylie turned away as though she were about to be sick.  
  
"Kylie he needs stitches and bandages if he's going to live," Brad didn't particularly care about Seamus, but he was a decent boy who didn't like to see others die. Although he knew little about healing, he could tell that the blood wouldn't stop in time for the wound to heal. "Kylie, you know how to sew right?"  
  
"A-a little," Kylie stammered, staring at the ugly wound on the base of Seamus' neck. "But, but I don't have any thread!"  
  
"Then go get some! We'll skip breakfast, hurry!" The door opened at a certain time each morning so they could go eat breakfast, but Kylie as allowed certain privileges. Her parents had left her a few belongings, and they were kept in a separate room, but she was allowed access to it during her free time. She ran now, only walking calmly in front of Nietzscheans, a pleasant smile on her face. Then she frantically searched the room for the sewing packet her mother had made for her to repair her clothing with. Kylie hadn't used it in years, but she had to try and help Seamus.  
  
***Three Days Later  
  


* * *

  
"And you who are my parents to church you may me bring, but unto Lord Sultan I'll never bear a son. To a son, or a daughter, I'll never bow my knee, and I'll die if I don't get, my love, Annachie..." Kylie's voice was choked with sobs, but Seamus smiled, although his eyes remained closed. He'd taught Kylie his mother's song weeks ago; he was amazed she remembered it, but then, she was a genius just like him.  
  
Some genius, he thought to himself. If it hadn't been for Brad and Kylie, he would have died. He was allowed to skip work the first day, but the past two he'd been struggling through his work at the lab. They'd been frantic on how to hide his wound; if the Nietzscheans found out what he did, he'd be killed for sure. It had been Kylie's idea to tie a scarf around his neck.  
  
"It used to be a fashion," She explained. Although he felt like an idiot, Seamus hadn't complained. They'd all been pensive, afraid that Germanus would demand that Seamus take the scarf off. He had merely said that he was glad to see Seamus was back, and that had been it.  
  
After the first day, when Seamus had nearly collapsed in the room, Kylie had disappeared for a few minutes. When she returned, she pressed something into his hand.  
  
"What is it?" He asked groggily, staring at the object she'd put in his hands. It looked like a round cylinder.  
  
"I got it from the dining room; one of the Nietzscheans had it and didn't want it any more. It's a drink, some kind of cola, Sparky.." She kept babbling, but Seamus tried it, hesitantly. It was good, and soon he finished off the whole thing.  
  
"Thanks Kylie, that was delicious," He'd whispered, feeling much better already.  
  
"You're welcome," She whispered back, watching him apprehensively.  
  
Kylie had watched him nervously the whole day; Seamus had been sweating with the effort of remaining conscious. At the end of each day, he'd followed them back to their room and collapsed onto Kylie's cot, not having the energy to climb up to his own. Slowly, his wound was healing. There was still a chance of infection, but Kylie cleaned it for him everyday. Now she was singing to him, something that she insisted upon doing despite his protests.  
  
"Seamus, why did you do something like that? You could have died so easily," Kylie whispered, not realizing that he was still awake.  
  
"I can't stay here Kylie, it's driving me insane," he said softly. Startled, she accidentally jostled him, and he winced.  
  
"Sorry—but why Seamus? Is it so bad here?" She asked, tears filling her eyes. He couldn't look at her like that, so he closed his eyes.  
  
"Look Kylie, as soon as I'm better, I'm getting out of here or I'm going to die trying," Kylie drew a shuddering breath.  
  
"No Seamus! I don't want you to leave! You're the first real friend I've ever had, and, I love you," She said the last few words so softly he almost didn't hear them. His eyes snapped open again and he struggled to sit up. With her help, he turned to face her.  
  
"Come with me Kylie! We'll find my cousin Brendan and we'll all get out of here! I can get your chip out too, and his." He was smiling, his face flushed with excitement, and Kylie couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Ok Seamus, if you want me to, I'll help you escape."  
  
"And you'll come with me?"  
  
"Yes, I'll come with you," Seamus smiled and kissed her freckly nose without thinking, then lay back down. Kylie blushed and lay down to sleep beside him.  
  
Although the wound left a scar, it wasn't so noticeable if he kept his shirt collar up. It also wasn't as big as he had feared it would be; not that he cared too much, he had plenty of small scars in various places, he wasn't even sure how he had gotten most of them, but he was still a little vain about his looks. Especially since Kylie had confessed that she thought he was cute.  
  
A few more months passed, and Seamus regained his strength. They had talked to Brad about escaping and he had only shaken his head. He wouldn't help or hinder their escape, but he didn't want to leave with them. Neither was very surprised, Seamus hadn't thanked Brad for saving his life since he hadn't asked him to do so, but he knew Brad was more concerned about surviving than he was about being free.  
  
So Kylie and Seamus planned together, casting each other significant glances whenever Germanus mentioned something they thought might help them to escape. They planned to do it in the morning, when they were first allowed to leave for breakfast. There were always guards, but this was a time of shift changes and the guards ate their meals at this time as well, so things would be more confusing. They would go the bathroom, Kylie a few minutes after Seamus, and they wouldn't return to the dining room. Instead they would sneak through one of the restricted hallways Seamus had learned the codes for. There was also an underground escape route that led to just beyond the gates, this would be trickier, but Seamus would have to hack into the computer to learn the codes for it. Kylie had known about the escape route since she was little and there had been an accident. No one had thought to bring the kludge, but she had followed the Nietzschean workers to the entrance. She had forgotten about it until Seamus had mentioned how much easier it would be if they didn't have to run across the open space between the door and the gates.  
  
At last, everything was in place. Despite his misgivings, Brad had helped Kylie to distract Germanus so that Seamus had been able to get into the computer. He prided himself on how quickly and subtlety he'd been able to get the codes. Germanus hadn't suspected a thing, and if anyone else had found out, Seamus would have been dead by then.  
  
The morning of their designated day, Seamus and Kylie roused each other, and then dressed silently. They hadn't told Brad what day they were escaping; there was less chance of him being endangered if he didn't know. They exchanged nervous smiles. Impulsively Seamus leaned over and kissed her on her cheek, then blushed, looking away.  
  
"Seamus," Dammit, now he had made her cry, he could hear it in her voice. Prepared to apologize, he turned back and then she was kissing him- on the mouth. Dumbfounded, he stared at her when she pulled away, brushing a few tears from her eyes.  
  
"Hurry up," she whispered, then left. Still trying to collect himself, Seamus followed her, casting one last look at the room where he had spent the last year. He wouldn't miss it.  
  
Although both were nearly numb with fear, everything went according to plan. No one gave them a second glance when first Seamus, then a few minutes later Kylie, asked if they could use the bathroom.  
  
Once they were together, they snuck to the restricted hallway, neither daring to talk. Now came the moment of truth, as Seamus had put it. With a deep breath, and a mental double-check, he punched in the code. He glanced at Kylie; her eyes were squeezed shut, and her hands were clenched.  
  
"What, don't you believe in me?" He whispered mockingly, she only opened one eye and smiled. The door made a clicking sound and then it slid open. They both breathed a sigh of relief and then began running through the hallway. It was really so simple, Seamus was amazed that no one before them had escaped before. Of course, there were few kludges their age equal to his and Kylie's intellect. That was why the Nietzscheans used children; they needed workers who were capable enough to not blow the lab up, but they had to be expendable if something did go wrong, which was why kludges were used, and children could learn fairly simple tasks without actually catching on to say, how the main computer system operated. Luckily, Seamus and Kylie weren't ordinary.  
  
His heart pounding so loud he couldn't hear anything else, Seamus led the way down the passage. Once they reached the end, all they had to do was to make it to the escape entrance, and they were free. A moment of terror occurred when a Nietzschean guard passed them by. He looked at them, but Seamus and Kylie stared at the ground and walked slowly and purposefully, and somehow managed to get by without any questions.  
  
"Thank God," Kylie breathed once they had accessed the escape panel. Seamus glanced up at her. God? Since when had she become religious? He didn't say anything though, he simply typed in the code. This one was longer, and he had told Kylie it so that if he forgot, she could remember for him. At one point he froze, suddenly he couldn't remember what the next number was, and if they didn't press something in the next five seconds, the computer would know they weren't authorized. Seeing him freeze, Kylie quickly leaned forward and pressed the button for him. He remembered the rest, and once the door was open the crawled inside, then turned and shut the door.  
  
It was the longest ten minutes of his life, of that Seamus was sure. They crawled as quickly as they could. Kylie had said that she didn't think there were any cameras in the tunnel, because they would serve no purpose, but how could you rationalize Nietzschean thinking?  
  
Then, at last, Seamus felt the cold hit his face and he nearly yelled for joy. The air was bitterly cold, but it felt so good that he didn't complain. They were on the other side of the gates, and helping Kylie up, he grasped her hand and they ran.  
  
The farther they got from the lab, the more Seamus' heart lightened. It had worked! He was free! Kylie was free with him! He burst out laughing, stopped running and hugged Kylie tightly. She hugged him and laughed too, although Seamus knew she was nervous about living outside. She had known nothing but roughly twenty different rooms for most of her life. The feel of fresh-if not clean-air was but a memory, and a distant one.  
  
"It's so cold!" She exclaimed as they continued to the main city. Her teeth were chattering, and Seamus knew they would have to get some new clothes. They were not out of danger yet.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," he told her smiling. If only Brendan were here, then everything would be perfect, he thought dejectedly. For now, his cousin would have to wait. Looking around, Seamus realized that the streets were unusually deserted. Luckily, he had had enough foresight to grab some food before he had left the dining area. Running up to an elderly woman, he held out the squashed piece of bread. She stared at it, confused.  
  
"Ma'am, do you know where we can find some clothes?" he asked quietly. The woman looked him and Kylie up and down, and then nodded. "And where is everyone?" he asked, handing her the bread as she led them through the streets.  
  
"The magog have been attacking more recently, most people stay inside when they can," She said, her voice dry and cracked. Kylie looked at Seamus with alarm; she'd never seen or heard about the Magog, but Seamus had told her about his experience with them.  
  
"How can the magog attack here? This is the city!" he said, confused. The old woman shrugged, eating the bread quickly.  
  
"They've grown in numbers, and the Ubers can't fight them off completely." Seamus gave Kylie a weak smile as the woman led them to an old crumbling building.  
  
"You can take whatever fits," She said, and then quickly she walked away, disappearing into the shadows. Kylie clasped her mouth; there were dozens of dead bodies lying on the ground. The flies were thick, and the smell atrocious, but Seamus' heart didn't skip a beat. He started searching for clothes, whenever he found something that would work, he pried it off the body it was on and handed it to Kylie. She didn't complain, not even when he explained that he didn't know what they'd eat, or even when, but that he'd do his best to take care of her. She smiled at him, and somehow he didn't care if he didn't get to eat for a week, as long as Kylie stayed with him.  
  
He had contemplated his options; should he try and find the gang in case Brendan was still with them? Should he go back to one of his old hideouts? With remorse, he decided that the dump was too dangerous; if the Nietzscheans looked for them that was where they would search for him first. So he found a new spot, far away from the part of the city where the lab was. He and Kylie spent their first few weeks of freedom living in a deserted train station. Despite their lack of food and warm clothing, they delighted in each other's company.  
  
"Seamus, is this how married folk act?" Kylie had asked once, giggling as they huddled together with an old blanket wrapped around them.  
  
"Nah, they kiss more," He replied, smiling. "Like this," and he'd kissed her. Brendan had explained about girls to him, some, but he had never thought he'd enjoy kissing a girl. When Brendan had first confided his feelings toward some of the girls they'd met, Seamus had laughed and said he was crazy. "You'll understand someday," Brendan had said, and now he did.  
  
Kylie was every bit as innocent as he was, both having been rather unusually secluded to the ideas and acts of love, but they liked to think of themselves as married.  
  
"I mean, we're probably too young, you know, but what does it matter?" He'd said once, and Kylie had agreed, saying it was their feelings, and not their ages that mattered. They set up a cozy, if dirty and ugly, nest in the train station. A few rotted benches were still there. The ones that were still together they used as beds, the others they chopped up for firewood. All in all, both were happy. Seamus had started spending the days searching for news of his cousin, and had come back once, laughing, to tell Kylie that he had heard people gossiping. Apparently two kludges had escaped from some Nietzschean dungeon or such thing, and a reward would be given to whoever found and killed them. Kylie had been worried at first.  
  
"But what if someone finds us out and kills us for the reward?" She'd asked.  
  
"Don't be silly. Everyone knows that the only reward Nietzscheans will give us is a quick death," He had been right, people sometimes cast odd looks at him if he let his name slip, but other than that, he'd never had any trouble.  
  
Until the day he came home and found Kylie doubled over, coughing and retching on the ground. He'd rushed over to her side, and despite her protests that she was fine, he could tell that she had a fever. Seamus didn't understand; surely he would have gotten sick before Kylie! She'd had a much longer time of healthy food and surroundings; she claimed that she had never been sick in her life, while he had been sick too often for him to count. Frantic with worry as she steadily grew worse, her already pale skin growing sickly, he bundled her up in blankets and ran through the streets, trying to find some type of doctor. At last a man, whose little remaining hair was completely white, stopped to listen to Seamus' hysterical cries for help.  
  
"All right, I probably can't do anything for the girl, but I'll take a look at her," Seamus had led him back to the station and the man looked Kylie over. She had slipped into unconsciousness while Seamus had been gone, so she couldn't answer the doctor's questions of what felt wrong. Seamus tried to explain as best he could, but Kylie hadn't told him much. Holding her desperately as the man sighed and shook his head; Seamus protested that she couldn't be so sick. He explained everything, where they had come from, how Kylie had grown up in such a healthy area. At last, the man nodded in understanding.  
  
"I'm afraid you're wrong young man, she's much more likely to become ill than you," Wide eyed and white with fear, Seamus stared at the man in disbelief.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Germs boy! She's never been exposed to them, I'd bet. Or if has, it wasn't for long. She's got no immune system if she ain't ever been sick, and she probably can't handle the food neither. Shoulda left her where she was," The man sighed again, and patted Seamus comfortingly on the back. "Maybe she'll pull through; it's up to her now,"  
  
"No!" Seamus cried, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Kylie wasn't able to eat, and as the days passed she drifted in and out of consciousness. Seamus refused to leave her side, and he grew weak from lack of food or sleep. Then one morning, a week after she had first fallen ill, Kylie opened her eyes and stared up at Seamus.  
  
"Sing to me, please, Seamus," Her voice was so dry and parched, since Seamus hadn't been able to find any clean water or even any alcohol, that it nearly broke his heart just to hear her.  
  
"I'm so sorry Kylie! You'd be fine if it weren't for me," He sobbed, and her eyes fluttered closed.  
  
"It's ok Seamus; I got to live with you. Please sing," Cradling her in his arms, Seamus started singing the only song he knew, and although he sang it the best he could, his voice was too choked and shaky for it to sound pretty.  
  
"Jeannie was married, from church was brought home...when she and her maidens so merry should have been...when she and her maidens so merry should have been, she goes into her chamber and cries all alone....Come to bed my Jeannie, my honey and my sweet, to style you my mistress it would be so sweet...Be it mistress or Jeannie it's all the same to me, but in your bed Lord Sultan I never will lie." He knew she had stopped breathing, he could feel it, but still he kept singing, his eyes shut tightly, trying to deny the reality of the world.  
  
"And down came—her father, he's spoken with renown, saying 'You who are her maidens, go loosen up her gowns, and she fell down to his floor, and straight down to her knee, saying, Father look I'm dying for my love, Annachie....The day that Jeannie married was the day that Jeannie died, and the day that young Annachie came home, on the tide...and down came her maidens all wringing of their hands, saying, 'Oh you've been so long, you've been so long, on the sands, so long upon the sounds, so long upon the floods, they have married your Jeannie and now, she lies dead. You who are her maidens, come take me by the hand, and lead me to the chamber where my love she lies in...and he kissed her cold lips and his heart it turned to stone, and he died, in the chamber where his love, she lies in,"  
  
Seamus could barely speak the last words; his own throat had been sore the past few days and he knew he was getting a fever but he didn't care. He kissed her one last time and silently wished for death.  
  
End of Chapter 3  
End of Volume 1  
  
Well, how was it? Horrible? I hope not. Anyway, PLEASE write a review, or I won't add anything! If you prefer, write to me at Runicprincess@aol.com Any thoughts, known facts, or ideas are welcome too. Thanks,  
Luna Sealeaf 


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